


i step back just to frame it

by maybesentient



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:10:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybesentient/pseuds/maybesentient
Summary: "oh my, you just gotta take a piece of me,try to tease out the other sidecause darlin’ i just see you’ve been so sweet to mei’ve been waiting for this day all nightwould it kill you for some peace of mind?would you take me and not look back?good gracious you’re a heart attack."~heart attack, wild rivers~





	i step back just to frame it

Adam can recall the first time he met Shiro with a whimsical clarity, like something half from a dream. They were the newest year of students at the Garrison and Shiro was awkwardly tall and built like a runner, but he held himself with a graceful confidence that made Adam-- short, shy, nervous-- want to straighten out his shoulders and stand tall as well. All of the teachers loved Shiro because he showed promise, and a lot of the other students looked up to him, went to him for guidance. Adam never had the guts to ask Shiro for help, until one day he found out that the two of them would be on a team together. 

Shiro walked up to Adam and already had one hand outstretched. “You’re Adam right? I’ve seen some of your simulation flying and you’re really good. I liked how you maneuvered around that meteor.”

Adam, holding a stack of books in both arms, slowly looks up from Shiro’s hand toward his face. “You saw that?”

“Well, yeah.” Shiro laughed, cheeks burning pink as he looks away. “It was-- it was really cool.” He started to lower his hand a little awkwardly, and Adam hurried to shuffle the books into one arm so that he could shake Shiro’s hand.

“I can’t wait to work with you,” Adam said earnestly, and Shiro’s smile was bright enough to blind someone. Getting Takashi Shirogane to smile felt like free-falling, and that’s probably how Adam would describe the progression of their relationship throughout the years: a neverending free-fall, a roller coaster with no stop or start. Matt once laughed at Adam for how quickly he fell.

When they became roommates the next year Adam was a nervous wreck-- he had so many dumb video games, and a lot of plants, and what if Shiro didn’t like the same music? What if Shiro was allergic to cats and Adam would have to get rid of Cleopawtra? But Shiro arrived with his equally dumb video games to ease Adam’s anxieties, and he loved Cleopawtra almost immediately. He even offered to help Adam water his plants, so that it wouldn’t take as much time. 

How could Adam  _ not _ fall?

.

.

.

 

He got to see a nervous side to Shiro, too: One day Shiro returned to the apartment with a young boy in tow, black hair wild and eyes rimmed with bruises. His knuckles were red from a recent fight, and Adam didn’t even hesitate-- he immediately went into the kitchen, returning with the first aid kit and an ice pack.

His name was Keith and he didn’t have a home, the Garrison was really it for him, and Adam knew somewhere deep in his chest that Shiro wanted to do everything in his power to protect and help this kid.

So Adam offered to help.

Being instructors at the Garrison, they worked together to keep Keith out of trouble, stepping around corners to smooth over arguments and drag Keith away before he could use his fists. It didn’t always work, but they did their best and they could tell Keith-- though begrudgingly-- was happy for their help.

Sometimes Keith would have nightmares and he’d sneak over to the room Shiro and Adam shared, and neither man could turn him away when Keith asked to sleep on their couch. Sometimes Shiro would sit up with Keith into the early hour mornings, running his fingers through Keith’s hair as the small boy slept. Sometimes Adam would watch the two of them from the door of his bedroom, marvelling at how soft and fuzzy-edged Shiro looked in the faint light coming in from the windows. Then he’d quickly pull himself back into his room, too embarrassed by those thoughts to continue staring.

Eventually, after a few months of nights spent like that, Keith trusted the two of them enough to come out as gay, a revelation that in turn lead to Shiro saying he was gay-- a fact Adam did not know-- and Adam coming out as bisexual-- a fact Adam was  _ sure _ Shiro didn’t know.

From there it was really all downhill. Longer glances, lingering touches, red ears after teasing jokes. Adam wondered, then, if maybe they had always liked one another, but hadn’t seen it as an option until Keith helped them open their eyes.

.

.

.

 

Shiro made the first move, and it honestly took Adam by surprise. It was a Saturday night and they were sitting in the apartment watching Jurassic Park with Keith, who was throwing popcorn into the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. He was sitting between the two of them, so occasionally a kernel would bounce off of Adam’s shoulder, or land somewhere in Shiro’s hair, but neither of them said anything about it.

At one point Shiro leaned down and whispered something to Keith, who made a disgusted noise and jumped to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Adam asked, pulling his feet away from the coffee table and tucking them underneath himself. Keith glanced toward Shiro before shrugging.

“I forgot about an assignment that’s due tomorrow.”

“What is it? I thought we finished off your homework for this week.” Adam shared a look with Shiro, who shrugged.

Keith rolled his eyes at Adam, picking up the popcorn bowl and walking backwards toward the door. “It’s nothing major, no worries. See y’all tomorrow.” And then he spun around and slipped out of the apartment. A few seconds after the door slammed shut, Adam turned to Shiro.

“He took my popcorn.”

“Yeah.” Shiro looked nervous, for some reason, but he just turned back to the movie and the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence. The silence, though, quickly morphed into tension as Adam became increasingly aware of the fact that he was alone with Shiro, who was sitting  _ so close _ … And moving closer? Slowly at first, but then Adam scooted more toward the center of the couch and Shiro  _ smiled _ and it was insane. Absolutely, deliciously insane. 

They kept this up until their hands touched, and then Shiro didn’t hesitate at all: he took Adam’s hand and held it between both of his own. Adam’s breath caught and stuttered in his throat, and all he could do was stare down at their hands, heart beating a thunderstorm in his chest. 

“Shiro?”

“Hm?”

“You-- my hand.” Adam slowly looked up at Shiro, who was smiling softly at the movie.

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

Adam didn’t answer at first, just watched the light of the screen flicker across Shiro’s face and marveled at how someone so beautiful could want to hold his hand. Then Shiro turned and looked at him, and Adam found the answer in Shiro’s eyes: he wanted to hold Adam’s hand because he thought the  _ world  _ of him. Adam nodded slowly, turning back to the movie and letting his head fall to Shiro’s shoulder.

“It’s okay.”

.

.

.

 

Eventually Adam started sleeping in Shiro’s bed, and Keith would use Adam’s room whenever he needed to. They began telling others at the Garrison, until it became common knowledge: Shiro and Adam were more than partners, they were in  _ love _ .

Sometimes the students asked them questions about their relationship, and Shiro was always happy to answer. Adam remembers one boy who seemed perturbed by the idea of liking boys and girls. It was nice, to be a beacon of hope to the students. Not just as pilots, but as an out couple.

.

.

.

 

It was a year into their relationship when Shiro told Adam about his disease.

“I’m fine right now, but eventually my-- my muscles won’t really work anymore. Doctors say I’ve really only got a few years left.”

“To live.”

Shiro’s grip on his glass of water tightened, and Adam knew what he was doing: he was trying to offer Adam an out. He was saying, without having to say anything, “I don’t want you to have to watch me die.”

Adam got up from the couch and walked toward the kitchen, only to turn around and begin pacing behind the couch. He could barely breathe, and he couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was fear, or anxiety, or something else entirely.

“Adam…” Shiro started, turning around, but Adam held up a hand to stop him.

Only a few years to  _ live _ ? That wasn’t nearly enough time, Adam knew, and he couldn’t help but selfishly want to keep Shiro all to himself. He wanted to cram decades of love into that time, however infinitesimal. He wanted them to grow old together, wanted enough time to make all those dramatic love gestures he saw in the movies. But Shiro didn’t have that kind of time. Shiro, who  _ knew _ Adam felt this way, wanted this ending. Shiro, who was willing to break his own heart to let Adam move on.

The answer was simple.

Adam whirled around, toward Shiro’s panicked wide eyes. “Marry me.”

“W-- What?” Shiro blinked, and Adam rushed around the couch to get on one knee beside Shiro. Shiro followed, sliding to the ground and nervously raising his hands to Adam’s face. “Adam--”

“I’m being serious.” Adam took Shiro’s hands, holding them against his chest. “Takashi, marry me.  _ God, please, _ marry me.”

“I-- Y-Yes, Adam,  _ yes _ . Oh my God, y--  _ mmph! _ ” Adam didn’t even let Shiro finish, pulling him close and kissing him senseless. So what if they only have a few years: Adam plans to make the most of it.


End file.
